Coke-oven door handling mechanism



Dec. 7, 1943. P. H. LAVELY COKE OVEN noon HANDLING MECHANISM s Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1942 MN MN INVENTOR. PAUL [lownno Lfll/ELY.

Dec. 7, 1943. P. H. LAVELY 2,335,866

' COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 5, 1942 '8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. N F001. Home LA van: 9 BY 31 40 241, M

Dec. 7, 1943. P. H. LAVELY COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 5, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR P 04 f/owmalnvax Dec. 7, 1943. .P. H. LAVELY COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MECHANISM Fil ed Jam. 5, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 x 3 mm m W 5 Wu m 1m Ill L w m Dec. .7, 1943 INVENTOR. P40; l-lawaea 101/50.

v LAVELY 2, .'53 5,866

CQKE 'OVEN noon HANDLING MECHANISM.

(Fi ed Jan. 5. 1942 -s Sheets-sheaf. e

w mm mm M INVENT R. P404 Home Lake/J: W M

' Dec. 7, 1943. P. H. LAVELY '7 r "2,335,366 I COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 1942' 8 Sheets-Sheet s TINVENTOR. v s 19904 flan/Mauve):

Patented Dec.7, 1943- COKE-OVEN DOOR HANDLING MECHANISM Paul Howard Lavely, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Koppers Company, a corporation of Delaware Application January 5, 1942, Serial No. 425,699

12 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to apparatus for handling the doors of horizontal coke ovens and is more specifically concerned with provision of a door-head mechanism that is operative, on either the usual pusher-machine at the pusher-side or on the usual door-machine at the coke-side of such a coke-oven battery, automatically to remove from, and to restore to. latched position in latch-hooks provided for the purpose, cammed oven-door latch-bars that are non-integral with the oven-doors and are of the general type shown, for example, in Joseph van Ackerens copending application, filed 'August 13, 1941, Serial No. 406,653.

An object of the present improvement is the provision of a simple and practical mechanism that is adapted to utilize the usual horizontal and vertical reciprocatory movements, required of mechanisms for manipulating coke-oven doors mechanically to efiect, in sequence, the unlatching, the supporting, and re-latching of oven-door latch-bars that are not affixed to the oven-doors and that in their effective manipulation demand rotary motion of latching elements about the axes of such latch-bars and movement in a vertical plane independently of the associated cokeoven door.

A further object of invention is the provision of a mechanism that is adapted, in co-operative response to the required movements of apparatus for handling coke-oven doors, in sequence, rotatably to engage coke-oven latch-bars and to turn latching elements therefor about the aforesaid axis of the latch-bars and securely to grasp and elevate said latch-bars from their seats in the latch-bar hooks during the short interval said door-head mechanism is moving into position for grasping and removing a coke-oven door from a coking-chamber, and is also .adapted to perform these said operations in the reverse said sequence while the door-head mechanism is moving away from such door after its replacement thereby in the mouth of a coking-chamber.

A further object of invention is to provide means for performing the above-recited functions in. such manner that, in the case more especially of a self-sealing oven-door, such door is free of external pressure during its usuallyprovided minor movement in parallelism with the surface of the adjacent door-frame-prior to its extraction from, and its final seating in, the coking-chamber mouth.

The invention has for further .objects such other improvements and such other operative advantages-or results as may be found to obtain in the processes or apparatus hereinafter de- No. 2,182,494, issued December 5, 1939, to Koppers Company and which has provision to grasp and to extract a coke-oven door from a cokingchamber and to elevate and to slue the same sidewise before returning it to the mouth of a coking-chamber by execution of the same said series of movements in reverse sequence.

According to the present invention, the doorhead mechanism of a door-handling machine is equipped with resilient control-means that is responsive to those usual operative movements of door-handling equipment during the removing and returning of coke-oven doors to cokingchambers. This said resilient control-means is provided with terminal forked members that, during the propelling of the door-head mechanism oven-ward, are adapted initially to enter into loosely supporting engagement of the body of a cammed, horizontally-disposed, oven-door latch-bar having a projecting handle, and thereafter with decreasing distance between said mechanism and the oven-door, said resilient control-means is arranged, at spaced intervals and in sequence, to effect first the releasing of a device, also forming a part of said mechanism, that enters into pressure-contact with the said latchbar handle, to rotate a cammed latching element of the latch-bar about the longitudinalaxis of the latch-bar and thus to relieve the pressure of its cammed portion against an oven-door, the said control-means being thereafter arranged to effect a tripping of said device into such grasping engagement of said latch-bar handle'that during a subsequent withdrawal of the door-head mechanism from an oven-face, the cammed latching element is thereby rotated in the opposite direction into a position where it again satisfactorily latches the door. When the latch-bar element has, as described, been rotated 'into loosened position so as to permit ,removalof the ovendoor, the door-head mec anism has advanced sufficiently oven-ward that itstherewith integral door-hooks are in position to be brought into engagement with the door for that usual slight lifting of the latter preparatoryto its withdrawal from the coking-chamber,- such engagement being accomplished by the customary elevating of the door-head mechanism. Initially, this move- 2 asaaacc ment of elevating the door-head mechanism is utilized, according to the instant improvement, for the release of latch-bar locking-Jaws that spring into a position intermediate the face of the oven-door and the body of the latch-bar and thereby secure the latter within the above-said forked members of the resilient control-means, and by so doing, also relieve any pressure of the saidresilient control-means against the ovendoor.

The said integral door-hooks, of the novel doorhead mechanism, are so disposed thereon in respect of their co-operating hoolg-plates on the oven-door that, during its said movement of elevation, its door-hooks travel upwardly a total distance that is at least substantially equivalent to the effective depth to which a latch-bar is retained in its latch-hooks on the adjacent doorframe, and they are further so disposed as to ensure their traversing such distance either before, or at least substantially by the time, they enter into seating-contact with the hook-plates on the oven-door. By reason of this provision requiring elevating of the door-head mechanism the above-stated distance, the latch-bar that has been loosened and secured thereto by the abovedescribed latchoperating features is ensured of automatic disengagement from its latch-hooks by the time the oven-door is itself supported on the door-head mechanism, thereby leaving the ovendoor free both of all external pressure and of any interference with the customarily practiced slight raising thereof above the coke-oven floor prior to withdrawal of its refractory plug-portion from the coking-chamber mouth. This withdrawal of the doors refractory plug-portion is then accomplished by moving outwardly from the oven-face the carriage that directly supports the door-head mechanism in the door-handling machine.

The improved door-head mechanism is also provided with other means, described in the hereinabove-mentioned patent of the present inventor, whereby it can be slued sidewise to turn an oven-door supported thereon into a position where its refractory plug and the edges of its self-sealing frame are more accessible for cleaning after removal from the coke oven.

By repeating in their reverse sequence the above-described movements and operations of the said features of the novel door-head mechanism, a removed coke-oven door can be easily remethodwhich the invention may be embodied chine embodying the present improvements in door-head mechanisms and also showing diagrammatically in dotted lines the position in the machine assumed by a coke-oven door that has been removed thereby from a coking-chamber and slued sidewise for its cleaning;

turned to a coking-chamber and can be tightly I relatched into operating position.

The present improvements in the described apparatus make it advantageously expedient simply and effectively and solely by mechanical means, to remove coke-oven doors from, and to return them to, coking-chambers when their latching means are of the described type, and the delineated operative results are realizable without providing for the door-head mechanism, as a whole, movements other than those long employed in the art of coke-oven door-handling and consisting of raising and lowering the door and of moving it backward and forward at the oven-face. The construction, the simplicity of operation, and the advantages of this novel apparatus will be more clearly understood by reference to its following more detailed description made with the assistance of the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and showing for purposes of exempliflcation a preferred apparatus and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the door-handling machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fi 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the present improved door-head mechanism along with its carriage for moving it forward and backward at an oven-face, and shown embodied in the door-machine of Figs. 1 and 2, some parts being removed and other parts being illustrated in section more clearly to show the arrangement and operation of the mechanisms interior features;

Fig. 4 is a view along the line IV- IV of Fig. 3 showing the spiral race, formed on the outer surface of the housing for the threaded column, and whereby the door-head mechanism is slueable sidewise when said column is rotated;

Fig. 5 is a development view of the figure shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of features of invention as disposed at the upper part of the doorhead mechanism for operating the thereto adjacent cammed latch-bar of an oven-door, according to the improvement, and showing said features and their relative arrangement in improved detail;

Fig. '1 is a view taken along the line VII-VII ofFis. 3;

Figs. 8 and 9 are horizontal sections taken respectively along the lines VIII-VIII and IX-IX of Fig. 3; l

Figs. 10 to 14 are simplified diagrammatic sectional viewsin elevation arranged to show the progressive relative changes in positions of the latch-operating features of the door-head mechanism during one complete cycle of its operation in unlatching and removing a coke-oven door from its coking-chamber and thereafter returning the same to its latched position therein; and

Fig. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of some of the essential features of the latch-operating unit located at the lower part of the door-head mechanism and showing in greater detail their design, construction, and relative arrangement,

same parts in each of the views of the drawings.

the cam-member being so disposed that, by its rotation in opposite directions, it is operative to establish or to release pressure between said doorhooks and the oven-door, thereby respectively creating or relieving sealing-pressure contact between the sealing edge of a door and its doorframe. It is also clearly apparent from said figures that a latch-bar of the described type must be, for its effective use, lifted out of and lowered operating-bench, usually' located at that battery I side, by any preferred means arranged to turn wheels |2 of its supporting-truck l3. In the present embodiment, the saidwheels I! are driven by an electric motor I4 that operates through reducing gear l5 and a pinion. Lever It forms a part of the braking system for the .motor l4 and transmits an hydraulic impulse, occasioned in hydraulic cylinder I! by a pressure applied to brake-pedal Hi, to a pair of brake-shoes l9 that are responsive to said impulse to apply a pressure on the driving shaft of motor l4.

The door-handling machine I0 also comprises a carriage of structural steel that is horizontally reciprocative, transversely of the truck |3 of said door-handling machine, on wheels 2| that travel in tracks 22 therefor, this horizontal reciprocatory movement of the carriage 20 serving to advance the same toward or to withdraw it from the face of an oven-door of a battery of horizontal coke ovens. The lower supporting framework 23 of said carriage 20, that directly supports the carriage-propelling wheels 2| also serves as a base for the rugged, vertically disposed mast 24 that carries many of the present features of invention for operating coke-oven doors. By means of motor 25, operating through torque-coupling 26, gear-reducer 21, coupling 28, bell-crank 29, and the lever-system comprising, link 30, shorter and longer links respectively 3|, 33, that are attached to opposite ends of shaft 32, and the spring-plunger link 34 which is rotatably attached directly to mast 24, said carriage 2|! is reciprocated longitudinally of a coking-chamber on its said wheels 2|. The resilient link 34 serves as a safety device to prevent damage to motor 25 or features of invention attached to the doorhead mechanism by functioning as a buffer that permits normal travel of other said members of the actuating system for reciprocating carriage 20 even though the distance said carriage must travel forward to establish contact with all the tion whereby it stops flow of electric current to motor l4 which i only re-established when the carriag has been returned to its retracted position and said trip has again moved said handle 36 into closed-circuit position for motor I4.

The present improved door-head mechanism 38 and the means for vertically reciprocating the same are all supported on carriage 20 of the door-handling machine by means of themast 24 which for that purpose has cross-arm means 39 located atop thereof; the said cross-arm means 33 is appropriately formed and attached to the mast in a manner to hold in alignment the two heavy I-beams comprising it and'also to pr vide adequate support for electric motor 40. A lateral projection 4| from said cross-arm means serves to support substantially the entire weight of the door-head mechanism 38 which depends therefrom by means of threaded, rotatable column 42 that at its upper end is supported in thrustbearing 43 which nests in projection 4| of the said cross-arm means. The lower end of said column 42 is rotatably supported in alignment, but without hearing weight, in the lower bearing 44 that is held in a bracket '45 afllxed to mast 24. Electric motor 40, operating through acoupling,'awon'n, and a worm-gear, respectively 46, 41, 48, is arranged to rotate the column 42 around its vertical axis by power delivered to said motor through flexible cable 49 that is of sufficient length to permit unhampered reciprocation of the carriage 20.

Mounted on threaded column 42 is a housing for the whole of said door head, which housing is indicated generally by reference numeral 50. The housing 50 encloses or supports those features of the door-head mechanism of' invention that are directly employed in the automatic operating of the door-latches and the handling of the ovendoors themselves. The said door-head housing 50, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, is mounted on threaded column 42 by means of internallythreaded nut 5| that is enclosed within a separate housing compartment 52 therefor formed in the housing 50 for the whole of said doorhead. The said 'nut 5| directly carries all-the weight of housing 50 and the divers features of invention the housing supports, and said nut 5| has polygonally-shaped side walls with which the walls of its separate housing 52 correspond, thereby to obviate excessive rotational movement of the nut independently of other features of the door-head mechanism when column 42 is rotated by motor the nut 5| is, however, not rigidly confined in its said housing but is advantageously permitted a degree of floating movement so that it s free without strain to follow minor irregularities or departures from precise alignment of portions of the threaded column. Rotational movement of housing around its supporting column 42 is controlled by means of roller 53, which is pinned to the mast 24, and of a uniquely-contoured co-operative helicoidal race 54 formed on the external surface of that portion of housing 50 which directly surrounds said column 42. Roller 53 is always confined between the side walls of the race 54 and in this wise uncontrolled slueing of the door-head side-wise is obviated. As is clearlyapparent by reference to Figs. 3, 4, 5, the upper part of the helicoidal race 54 is provided for a' a position at right-angles to their uppermost section; this helicoidal portion of the races lower side-walls operates by pressure against roller 53, after an oven-door has been removed from a coking-chamber and when the column 42 is being rotated to elevate the door-head mechanism and its attached oven-door, to sine said mechanism and door around as much as ninety degrees to its former position where its sealing edges and refractory plug are more accessible for cleaning. During the raising and the lowering of the doorhead mechanism 88, telescopic shield covers I81 at the bottom and top thereof follow its travel to provide a suitable covering for the column and to prevent infiltration oi' aireborne solids into the working parts inside the door-head.

Those features of the present improvement that are specifically directed to automatic operation of the hereinabove-described type of latchbar and are adapted to rotate the same, or the latching elements thereof, in opposite directions about their axes and to remove them from and restore them to fixed latch-hooks independently of movement of the associated oven-door, are all formed integrally with the door-head mecha nism 38, and as will be manifest from the following description, they are furthermore so opera= tively adapted to perform these functions that an associated oven-door can freely depend from the usual door-hooks of a door-handling machine during the conventional operations of handling a door.

To this end, said door-head mechanism 38, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 and in the enlarged views of Figs. 6 and 15, is furnished with a plurality of resilient control-members-two each at the upper and the lower parts of said mechanism disposed on opposite sides of its vertical medianand each comprising a rod 55 that is arranged for horizontal plunger-like motion within and under the influence of a circumfer-. entially-discovered coil spring 55 that is itself confined in a fixed casing 51 attached to the inner surface of housing 58 of said door-head mechanism. A longitudinal lateral opening 58 in the inner wall of fixed casing 51 is' provided to allow horizontal travel of a trigger-plate 59 that is afllxed to a said rod 55 and serves during horizontalreciprocatory movement of the latter and of the door-head mechanism to release and to return to operating position, in sequence, latch-operating features hereinafter described.

Afllxed to the outer end of each of said springactuated rods 55 of the resilient control-members and in vertical alignment thereon is a rollerwheel 68 and a forked-member 8|, the former being disposed, during movement of the doorhead mechanism toward the oven-door, to enter into pressure-contact with the vertical surface of a large boss 62 that is integral with the supporting-back of the oven-door whereas the latter, at the same time, enters into supporting engagement with the body of the latch-bar 69; since, as above stated, there is provided two such spaced rods 55 adjacent both the top and the bottom of the door-head mechanism, as is more clearly evident in Fig. 15, they supportably secure a latch-bar at at least two points along its length during its removal from and return to latching position in the latch-hooks.

The device 83 of the door-head mechanism is the medium that directly serves to move the cammed element of a latch-bar about the longitudinal axis, of the latch-bar, in opposite directions according to the invention. This device is a rather intricately-formed casting having a hub-portion 64 whereby it is pivotally mounted by shaft 65 to opposite side-walls of the doormovement about its shaft 85, by means hereinafter described that are responsive to the horizontal reciprocatory motion of the door-head mechanism, is operative, firstly, to press on handle 81 of the cammed element 88 of latch-bar 88 and to move said element about the longitudinal axis of the latch-bar in the direction of the door to loosen said bar at the same time the door-head mechanism is moving in the same direction, and is thereafter operative, by the said rotary movement of device 83, to tip into such engagement with the end of handle 81 that the cammed element is pulled into latched position at the same time the door-head mechanism during its said reciprocatory motion is withdrawn from the face of the oven-door.

Integral with hub 64 of latch-operative device 63, but arranged on thatside opposite its said J-shaped portion 88, are formed a pair of levers 10, ll, of unequal length so spaced apart that they are individually operable for rotary movement of device 58 by only one of the triggerplates 59 of the thereto adjacent pair of rods 55 of the above-described resilient control-means, the axis of the former and longer lever, 18, extending nearly horizontally outwardly from said hub whereas the axis of the latter and shorter lever, H, extends about horizontally for a' short distance and then abruptly turns to form a substantially right-angled bend. The said longer lever 10 is rotatably-mounted at its outer end, by a pin, in clevis I2 which is resiliently-supported in housing 50 of the door-head mechanism by means of rod 13 that is axially-disposed in a coilspring 14, the latter being confined at its one end by a bracket-wall, that'is formed inside the said housing, and at its opposite end by washer 1 5 and nut 18 threaded on the terminus of rod 13. A rugged tooth ",medially projecting from machine housing 50. Projecting from the battery-side of said hub 84 is a bracketed section that terminates in a crooked or J-shaped portion 68 which, when said device is accorded rotary the otherwise linear surface of lever 10, is disposed to co-act with notches I8 in the adjacent surface of catch-block 19, whereby temporarily to arrest and retain latch-operating device 83, during its stepwise rotary motion about shaft 65, at preferred operating positions in part determined by the positions that are assumed by said catch-block 19 and which are themselves controlled by lever-lock bar 80 on which said catch-block is mounted.

The upper and lower lever-lock bars 88 are pivotally mounted to the walls of housing 58 by means of their hubs 8| and of a shaft 82 and they are independently rotatabl on said shaft and, as shown in Figs. 7 and 15, are each a composite of two spaced bars for a portion of their length, a catch-block 19 being mounted therebetween. These two lever-lock bars are not disposed in true alignment in the door-head mechanism but are oil-set, as shown in Figure 7, and are thus independently rotatable to move their catch-blocks 19 into and out of engagement with their teeth 11, as their function in said mechanism requires. By means of clevis 83, pin 84, and rod 85, each of the lever-lock bars communicates with a coil-spring 86 that is confined between an interior wall of housing 58 and a washer 81 and nut 88, threaded on the terminus of rod 85. Pressure of a trigger-plate 59 against the free end of a lever-lock bar 80 cause outward rotation of said bar which in turn moves its catch block 18 out of engagement with its tooth I1 and thus also compresses the associated coilspring 86; subsequent expansion of said coilspring serves to rotate the bar 88 to its initial taneousLv the attached catch-block I9 is moved to a position where it can re-engage tooth 11 of lever I9. -Adjustable screw 89 provides means for accurately adjusting the point at which a lever-lock. bar 99 is engaged and released by trigger-bar 59 during horizontal reciprocatory movement of the door-head mechanism.

Asafore-indicated, when the door-head mechanism of the door-handling machine is moved forward into contact with the face of an ovendoor, the bodyof a latch-bar 99 is loosely enaged by the two forked member 9| located at the ends of spring-actuated rods 55 of the resilient control-members. These forked memher: are arranged supportably to engage a latchbar but are not fashioned to grab and to lock it to the door-head mechanism for that period when the latch-bar, during its manipulation, is lifted from the latch-bar hooks 99 and the-oven-door is removed from its coking-chamber. For accomplishing this purpose, therefore, the doorhead mechanism is, ,according to the invention, provided at its upper and lower parts, with latchbar locking-jaws each comprising a pair of spaced hooks 9| that fork from a single leverhandle 92 which is pivotally supported by a shaft 93 to opposite walls of housing 59, the leverhandles 92 of the upper and the lower hooks 9| of the locking-jaws being so interconnected by tierod 94 that said locking-jaws are simultaneously moved in opposite directions. This contrary movement of said locking-jaws is produced by including said tie-rod 94 in a lever-system comprising itself and the short link 95 which is pivotally attached to lever-handle 92 of the lower locking-jaw, the said'link 95 being also resiliently supported in the door-head mechanism by a rod 96 that by means of a terminal washer and nut, respectively 91, 98, confines coil-spring 99 between said member 91 and a portion of the wall of said mechanisms housing. Trigger-post I99 that is fixed t the outer end of bracket 45, which also supports bearing 44 for the lower end of threaded column 42, is disposed, when the doorhead mechanism is in lowered position on said threaded column, to press against the end of lever-handle 92 of the lower latch-bar lockingjaw, thereby maintaining both the upper and of the oven-door can, during the operation of relower locking-jaws in unlocked position and also compressing the coil-spring 99. When, however, housing 59 is elevated by rotation of threaded column 42, pressure of the fixed trigger-post I99 against the outer end of member 92 is diminished and coil-spring 99 starts to expandand moves the locking-jaws 9| into position between the face of the adjacent oven-door and the latch-bars and ultimately said coil-spring expands sufficiently for the previously-loosened latch-bars to be rigidly grasped, between forked members 9| and the said locking jaws, whereby they become temporarily secured to the door-head mechanism and can be lifted out of latch-hooks 99 independently of any movement of the oven-door by further elevation of the housing 59 on threaded column 42. Advantageously, spring-pressure of the locking-jaws against the body of the latchbars also ,indirectly relieves the oven-door of all pressure of roller-wheels 6| against their co-acting bosses 92 thereon, so that the'oven-door is free of all external sealing-pressure when the latch-bars have been removed from the latchhooks and, in result, the flexible sealing-edge I9I moving and restoring a mkwoven door to a coking-chamber, be moved vertically in contact with the door-frame I92 the customary short distance, before actual extraction of the oven-door from the coking-chamber, without danger of in- .Iury to said flexible sealing-edge.

The upper and lower door-hooks, respectively I93, I94, are, as shown in Fig. 3, formed integrally with housing 59 of the door-head mechanism and they project outwardly therefrom sufflclently that, during ovenward movement of said mechanism, they enter openings I95 in the supporting-back of the oven-door, which in the present instance is of the turtle-back type described and claimed in the hereinabove mentioned copending application of Joseph van Ackeren and wherein the said supporting-back itself also functions as hook-plates for grasping of the door by the door-hooks, such distance that they are in a position, without further ovenwardmovement of said door-head mechanism and during its later elevation, to graspthe oven-door by the time the other door-head features have rotated the upper edge of openings I95 that, during the said elevating of the door-head mechanism, the loosened latch-bars will have been both engaged by the locking-jaws 9| and raised until they are emergent from their latch-hooks 99 when the door-hooks have reached lifting-engagement with the said upper edge of openings I95.

When, therefore, the door-hooks I93, I94, have reached lifting-engagement with the oven-door, its cammed latch-bars will have been automatically loosened and locked to the door-headmechanism of the invention and will also have been lifted out of the latch-hooks, and the oven-door will be freely supported on the doom-head for extraction from the oven in conformity with established procedure, by moving carriage 29 outward from the battery-face, and, thereafter, by means of the illustrated apparatus, the so-= removed oven-door can be further elevated by additional rotation of column 42 and, at "the same time, can be slued sidewise by pressure of roller 53 against the walls of helicoidal race 54. Repeating the above operations in the reverse order of the stated sequence will automatically restore the removed oven-door to the cokingchamber and, by the simple movement of withdrawing the door-head mechanism away from the face of the oven-door, the latter will be left in latched and sealed position in the coke oven.

It should be here noted for purpose of clearer understanding of the apparatus of the drawings that the levers I9, II, of the latch-operating devices 63 are disposed on their hubs 64 in opposite order as between the said device at the top and the bottom of the door-head mechanism so as more simply to accommodate their operative features in the door-head housing 59.

A short description of the movements and of the operative results produced by the above-described features of apparatus will assist understanding of their workings and emphasize .the simplicity with which the instant mechanism as a unit automatically performs the described sequence of latch-bar operations without requiring manipulations of a door-head mechanism other than thosecustomarily employed in operating coke-oven doors. Such description will be made by reference more particularly to Figs. 10 to 14.

Let it be assumed that the door-handling machine l has been propelled along tracks II, at the face of a coke-oven battery, by motor I4 and that its carriage 20 has been placed in proper position in front of the coke-oven door that is to be removed from a coking-chamber. The cammed member 68 of the latched latch-bar 09 will be found to be so turned that that surface thereof at the end of its longer axis is pressing against its bearing plate I06 aflixed to the face of the oven-door and the body of the latch-bar will be pressing against the outer surface of the door of the 'Just previously pushed cokingchamber.

As carriage 20 is advanced in the direction of the oven-door by motor 25, the spaced rollerwheels 60, of which each is affixed to the end of a rod 55 comprising the resilient control-members at the upper and lower portions of the doorhead mechanism, first come into pressure-contact with bosses 52 on the face of the oven-door and at the same time the similarly spaced forkedmembers also carried on the ends of said rods 55, supportably engage the body of the upper and the lower latch-bar 69, as shown in Figs. 10 and 15, at two spaced points therealong. Further advancing of said carriage in the direction of the door, causes trigger-plates 59, that are attached to rods 55, to compress coil-springs 56, thereby permitting the other features of the doorhead mechanism to advance relative to the now stationary rods 55 and to move closer to the face of the oven-door. As those trigger-plates 59 which are directly behind the shorter levers ll of the devices 03 foroperating the cammed elements of the latch-bars (see Fig. start to compress their associated coil-springs 56, these particular trigger-plates leave previous contact with said levers II and can no longerinterfere with subsequent rotary movement of devices 63 about their shafts 65. Each said device 63 is, however, still rigidly supported to resist rotational pressure because the tooth 11 of its longer lever 10 is still locked in its nearest notch I8 on the surface of catch-block I9. With further advance of the door-head mechanism toward the face of the oven-door, the vertically disposed leg of the against handle 61 of the cammed element 58 of the latch-bar and rotates the same into positionv where it nolonger presses against its bearing-plate I06 on the oven-door, as shown in Fig. 11, and the associated latch-bar then lies loosely in latchbar hooks 90 and sealing-pressure on the door is relieved. Rotation of the cammed elements of both latch-bars into loosened position having been thus effected, those trigger-plates 59, which have, in the interim, been compressing the coilsprings 56 adjacent to the longer levers 10 of the cam-operating devices 63, have established contact with the ends of lever-lock bars 80 which they cause to rotate away from the oven-door face on their shafts 82, thereby compressing coilsprings 86 and each also releasing the tooth H or its longer lever 10 from locked position in assesses catch-block I9, whereuponthe associated coilspring I4 expands and causes a cam-operating device 93 to rotate on its shaft 65 and the shorter leg of its J-shaped portion 06 thus to pass behind a handle 61 of cammed element 99 so that said handle is actually engaged by the J-shaped portion 66 and during a subsequent withdrawal of the door-head mechanism away from the ovendoor, the device 63 is held by coil-spring 14 in position to rotate the cammed element into latchtightening position. Therelative positions of the various features of the invention at this juncture are clearly shown in Fig. 12 to which reference will also show that door-hooks I03, I04, have sufficiently entered openings I05, in the supportingback of the turtle-back oven-door, that elevating of the door-head mechanism will cause them to enter into lifting engagement of the door.

The cammed elements of the latch-bars'having been rotated into loosened position, the door-' head mechanism is advanced no further toward the oven-door, and motor 40 is started to rotate threaded column 42 in that direction which elevates the door-head mechanism 38 thereon and, as it rises, pressure of fixed trigger-post I00 against lever-handle 92 of the lower locking-jaw hooks 9I is gradually relieved, the coil-spring 99 thereupon can expand and thereby exerts such tension on tie-rod 94 that the locking-jaw hooks 9| are moved into engagement of the latch-bars at their sides adjacent the oven-door, thereby grasping the latch-bars and'temporarily supporting them on the door-head mechanism. Continued elevation of the door-head mechanism on column 42 lifts the latch-bar out of engagement With their latch-bar hooks by'the time that the door-hooks I03, I04, have reached lifting-engagement with the oven-door, in which relative position the various said parts are now shown in Fig. 13. The oven-door now freely depending from the door-hooks is slightly elevated above the floor of the coking-chamber, motor 40 is stopped, and the oven-door is withdrawn from the coking-chamber by moving carriage 20 outwardly from the battery face by rotation of motor 25. Following extraction of the oven-door from its coking-chamber, motor 40 is again started, and the door-head mechanism, including the loosened and lifted latch-bars and the thereon-supported oven-door, is further elevated on threaded column 42 until by pressure of roller 53 against the walls of helicoidal race 54, the doorhead and its attached said features are slued sidewise, as above described, for easy cleaning of the refractory plug and sealing-edges. The oven-door has now taken its relative position in the door-handling machine diagrammatically shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

In replacing the oven-door, motor 40 is again started and column 42 is rotated in that direction which lowers the oven-door and simultaneously slues it back into position in front of the mouth. of the coking-chamber. Motor 40 is then stopped, motor 25 is re-started and carriage 20 is advanced toward the coking-chamber mouth until it is in position in the door-frame with its sealing-edge in contact with the latter, whereupon motor 25 is stopped. Motor 40 is again started and the door is lowered into its final seating on the oven-sole by further rotation of said column 42. Continuing the rotation of said column lowers the door-head mechanism relative to the oven-door, thereby simultaneously 7:; lowering door-hooks I03, I04, from liftingengagement with the door and also lowering the cammed latch-bars 69 into place in their latchhooks 90. Still further rotation of column 42 bringslower lever-handle 92 of the latch-bar 1 their latch-operating devices 63, in the position clearly shown in Fig. 6. Motor 40 is again stopped when these operations have been completed, and there remains only to be accomplished the rotation of the cammed elements '68 into their door-sealing position. This latter operation is automatically accomplished during withdrawal of carriage 20 from the face of the oven-door by motor 25. As the carriage recedes from the door, the J -shaped portions 66 of devices 63 pull on handles 61 of the cammed elements 68 and rotate the latter into sealing-pressure contact with bearing-plates I06 on the door. As the distance between the oven-door and the doorhead mechanism increases during withdrawal of the latter from the face of the door, the tension of the pull of devices 63 on the latch-handles also increases, thereby compressing coil-springs I4 and allowing said devices 63 to rotate on their shafts 65; when the tension ofthe devices 63 on the latch-handles exceeds a predetermined value adequate to tighten the cammed elements 68, springs ll are sufllciently compressed'to permitthe J-shaped portions 66 of devices 83 to rotate out of engagement with said latch handles (see Fig. 14). While this movement is taking place, those trigger-plates 59, that actuate the lever-lock bars 80, have been moved away, by expansion of springs 56, from the ends of the same and they have been restored to vertical position by rotation on their shafts 82, by expansion of coil-springs 86, carrying with them the catch-blocks I9, and the latter are thus restored to those positions where teeth 11 of levers 10 enter into engagement with the more remote of the recesses on the adjacent surfaces of said catch-blocks, thereby locking the devices 63 at the top and bottom of the door-head mechanism in substantially their original positions and retaining their actuating springs I4 under that compression required to rotate the devices 63 into engagement with the latch-handles of the next door to be removed. Just prior to complete withdrawal of the door-head mechanism from contact with the face of the replaced oven-door, those trigger-plates 59, that actuate the shorter curved levers H of latch-operating devices 63, are pressed by their coil springs 56 against the outer surfaces of said shorter levers, thereby rotating the devices 63 a slightly increased.

amount away from the face of the door so as to provide that added clearance therefor that minor variations in the lengths or positions of the ends of the latch-bar handles 61 of successive oven-doors of the battery may require. During this final added rotation of devices 63, the teeth 11 of their longer levers I0 are moved to locking positioh in their nearest adjacent recesses 18 of catch-blocks 19 to assure that said devices retain this added movement. The various features of the improved door-head mechanism have now resumed their original relativepositions and are prepared to unlatch and re-latch the next door to be removed. 7

As is now manifest from the above-given, all the described workings of the door-head features are automatically co-operative and take place in rapid sequence and coke-oven doors equipped with latch-bars of the described type can be removed from and restored to coking-chambers by automatic mechanical means requiring no operative movements of the door-handling machine other than those long employed and required for the purpose.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular form and manner but may be variously embodied within the scope of the claims hereinafter made.

of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is longitudinally and vertically reciprocative in respect of a. coking-chamber both to operate the latche of and to remove and to restore the oven-door of a coking-chamber, said door-head mechanism comprising: a device adapted to produce rotary movement of a latching element of a latch-bar about its longitudinal axis in opposite directions a1- temately in accordance with the direction of movement of the door-head mechanism in its said horizontal reciprocatory movement, thereby to loosen and to tighten said latch-bar; means operative to supportsaid latch-bar on said doorhead mechanism independently of its associated coke-oven door during an interval between said opposite rotary movements of the latch-bar, so that said latch-bar is vertically reciprocative separately of said door in uniatching and latching the same; and other means that are operative vertically to reciprocate said latch-bar andits said supporting means independently of its associated coke-oven door for disengagement of the latch-bar from, and re-engagement in, latch- .hooks therefor.

and vertically reciprocative in respect of a cokingchamber both to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore the oven-door of a cokingchamber, said door-head mechanism comprising: a device adapted to produce rotary movement of a latching element of a latch-bar about its longitudinal axis in opposite directions alternately in accordance with the direction of movement of the door-head mechanism in its said horizontal reciprocatory movement, thereby to loosen and to tighten said latch-bar; and means that are adapted graspingly to support said latchbar on said door-head mechanism and to reciprocate said latch-bar vertically independently of its associated coke-oven door for disengagement from and re-engagement in latch-hooks for said latch-bar.

3. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is longitudinally and vertically reciprocative in respect of a coking-chamber both to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore the oven-door of a coking-chamber, said door-head mechanism com-' prising: a device adapted to utilize the force of movement of the door-head mechanism in its horizontal reciprocative movement towards and away from the door to produce rotary movement of a latching element of a latch-bar about the 8 asaascc longitudinal axis of the latch-bar is opposite of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is horizontally reciprocative to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore the oven-door of a coking- ,chamber, said door-head mechanism comprising:

a device adapted to utilize the force of movement of the door-head mechanism in its horizontal reciprocative movement towards and away from the door to produce rotary movement of a latching element of a latch-bar about the lon-v gitudinal axis of the latch-bar in opposite directions alternately in accordance with the direction of movement of the door-head mechanism in its said horizontal reciprocatory movement, thereby to loosen and to tighten said latch-bar; and means that are adapted to grasp and support said latch-bar and to reciprocate the same vertically independently of movement of its associated coke-oven door for disengagement from and reengagement in latch-hooks for said latch-bar.

5. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is horizontally and vertically reciprocative in front of a cokeoven door to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore said coke-oven door of a coking-chamber, said door-head mechanism comprising: a device that is responsive to said horizontal reciprocatory movement of said door-head mechanism in front of an oven-door alternately to push and to pull a latching element of an ovendoor latch-bar about the longitudinal axis of the latch-bar, thereby alternately to loosen and to tighten said latch-bar between its latch-hooks and the associated oven-door; and means that are responsive to said vertical reciprocatory motion of said door-head mechanism to raise the loosened latch-bar from and to restore the same toits said latch-hooks independently of vertical movement of said oven-door.

6. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is horizontally reciprocative in front of a coke-oven door. to operate the latches of said door and has also means adapted for grasping and releasing said door, said door-head mechanism comprising: a device that is responsive to said horizontal reciprocatory movement of said door-head mechanism in front of an oven-door to push and to pull a latching element of an oven-door latchbar about the longitudinal axis of the latch-bar during respectively the forward and backward movement of said door-head mechanism in its horizontal reciprocatory motion and thereby respectively to loosen and to tighten said latch-bar between it latch-hooks and the associated ovendoor; means that are vertically reciprocative to grasp and release said oven-door; and other means that are adapted for vertical reciprocation to raise a loosened latch-bar from and to restore the same to its latch-hooks without grasping said oven-door.

7. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising, a door-head mechanism that is horizontally reciprocative in front of a coke-oven door to operate the latches of said door and has also means adapted for grasping and releasing said door, said door-head mechanism comprising La device that is responsive to said horizontal reciprocatory movement'of said door-head mechanism in front of anoven-door alternately to push and to 'pull a latching element of an oven-door latch-bar about the longitudinal axis of the latch-bar, thereby alternately to loosen and to'tighten said latchbar between its latch-hooks and the associated oven-door; means thatare vertically reciprocative to grasp and release said oven-door; and other means that are adapted for vertical reciprocation to raise a loosened latch-bar from and to restore the same to its latch-hooks without grasping said oven-door.

8. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is adapted to remove and to restore the oven-door of a cokingchamber and is horizontally reciprocative'to operate the latches for said oven-door, said doorhead mechanism comprising: a resilient member that is adapted to apply pressure to the oven-door and to remain substantially stationary during horizontal reciprocation of said door-head mechanism in front of said oven-door, and a resiliently rotatable device that is operatively responsive to demands of said resilient member, said rotatable device being adapted, during movement of said door-head mechanism in the direction of said oven-door, both to press on a latching element of a latch-bar of said oven-door to rotate the same about its longitudinal axis, thereby to loosen said latch-bar, and thereafter to be released in response to said resilient member into resilient engagement with said latching element so as to rotate said device in the opposite direction to tighten said latch-bar, said rotatable device being further adapted, during motion of the door-head mechanism away from said door to pull said latching element of said latch-bar into its latch-tightening position and thereafter to be rotated into disengagement of said latching element followed by its arrestment by means including said resilient member.

9. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is adapted to remove and to restore the oven-door of a cokingchamber and is horizontally reciprocative to operate the latches for said oven-door, said doorhead mechanism comprising: a resilient member that is adapted to apply pressure to the ovendoor and to remain substantially stationary during horizontal reciprocation of said door-head mechanism in front of said oven-door; a resiliently rotatable device that is operatively responsive to demands of said resilient member, said rotatable device being adapted, during movement of said door-head mechanism in the direction of said oven-door, both to press on a latching element of a latch-bar of said oven-doorto rotate the same about its'longitudinal axis, thereby to loosen said latch-bar, and thereafter to be released in response to said resilient member into resilient engagement with said latching element so as to rotate said device in the opposite direction to tighten said latch-bar, said rotatable device being further adapted, during motion of the door-head mechanism away from said door, to pull said latching element of said latch-bar into its latch-tightening position and thereafter to be rotated into disengagement of said latching element followed by its arrestment by means including said resilient member; and means that are adapted for vertical reciprocation to raise the loosened latch-bar from and to restore the same to its latch-hooks without grasping said ovendoor. a

10. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is horizontally reciprocative in front of an oven-door to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore said coke-oven door of a coking-chamber, said door-head mechanism comprising: a resilient member that is adapted to apply pressure to the oven-door and to remain substantially stationary in respect of the same during horizontal reciprocation of said door-head mechanism; a resiliently rotatable device that is operatively responsive to demands of said resilient member, said rotatable device being adapted, during movement of said door-head mechanism in the direction of said oven-door, both to press on a latching element of a latch-bar of said ovendoor to loosen said latch-bar and thereafter to be released by said resilient member into resilient engagement with said latching element for pulling the same into latch-tightening position, said rotatable device being further adapted, during motion of said door-head mechanism away from said door, to pull said latching element into its latch-tightening position and thereafter to be rotated into disengagement of said latching element followed by its arrestment by means including said resilient member; and means adapted for vertical reciprocation to raise a loosened latch-bar from and to restore the same to its latch hooks and also to remove pressure of said resilient member on said oven-door without grasping said door.

11. Coke-oven apparatus for manipulating doors of horizontal coke ovens, said apparatus comprising a door-head mechanism that is horizontally and vertically reciprocative in front of an oven-door to operate the latches of and to remove and to restore said coke-oven door of a head mechanism in the direction of said ovendoor, both to press on a latching element of a latch-bar to loosen the same and thereafter to be released by said resilient member into resilient engagement with said latching element .for pulling the same into latch-tightening position, said rotatable device being further adapted, during motion of said door-head mechanism away from said door, to pull said latching element into its latch-tightening position and thereafter to be rotated into disengagement of said latching element followed by its arrestment by means including said resilient member; hook means adapted to grasp saidoven-door during said vertical reciprocation of said door-head mechanism; and other means operative by said vertical reciprocation of the door-head mechanism to secure thereon a thereby-loosened latchbar and also to relieve pressure of said resilient member on the oven-door and to raise said latchbar from and to restore the same to latch-hooks without grasping said oven-door;

12. Coke-oven apparatus for operating a latchbar for a coke-oven door, comprising: a doorhead mechanism reciprocative toward and away from a coke-oven door; and a plurality of latchactuating means mounted on said door-head mechanism;- one of said latch-actuating means being arranged to utilize the force of the headmechanism on its movement towardthe door to press on a latching-element of a latch-bar for the door to loosen it, and another of said latchactuating means being arranged to utilize the force of the head-mechanism on its movement coking-chamber, said door-head mechanism.

being adapted, during movement of said dooraway from the door to pull the latching-element into latch-tightening position, the latch-tightening latch-actuating means being mounted on the head-mechanism to clear the latching element is moved so as to again clear the latching-element after the latch-tightening latch-actuating-means has pulled the latching-element into its latchbar tightening position.

PAUL HOWARD LAVELY. 

